Madam, - Tony Williams's Irishman's Diary of May 26th on Sir Edward Elgar deserves every congratulation.
But in one small respect he repeats an off-stated fallacy that is disproved by the research of the past generation: "The final flowering of Elgar's musical creativity took place. . .in 1918 and 1919: he produced in quick succession his three chamber works and his Cello Concerto."
As we now know, "the final flowering", after the fallow years of the 1920s, took place during the brief period 1933-34, being left unconsummated by Elgar's final illness and death. Various remarkable works were then in progress.
Elgar was so impressed by Leon Goossens's oboe playing during a recording in early 1933 that he planned a suite for oboe and orchestra.
One movement has been completed from Elgar's short score by Gordon Jacob, and was recorded by Goosseens himself in 1976.
In 1933-34 Elgar was also working again on compositions started earlier, Robert Walker, in the 1990s, completed Elgar's sketches for a three movement piano concerto, finally recorded by David Owen Norris in 2004; and Percy Young similarly realised 44 minutes of vocal orchestral music from Elgar's opera The Spanish Lady, recorded under the auspices of the BBC in 1995.
Above all there is Anthony Payne's masterful reconstruction of the Third Symphony. The tragedy of all of these works is that death intervened before they could be completed. But Gordon Jacob, Robert Walker, Percy Young and Anthony Payne have together enabled us to see that something very significant was in progress in this final phase of Elgar's life. - Yours, etc,
Dr MARTIN PULBROOK, Enniscoffey, Co Westmeath.